Montauk Chamber Unveils Harbor Center

The unveiled a Harbor Information Center at its downtown offices on Wednesday, in an effort to drive traffic into a vibrant but somewhat hidden area of the resort community.

A committee of chamber members including Carl Darenberg, owner of the , came up with a plan for the unused room in the Main Street chamber building, which had sat vacant for more than a year.

According to Darenberg and Laraine Creegan, the head of the Montauk Chamber, many visitors are unaware that the area even exists. They make a beeline for the beach, or head straight to the lighthouse.

"We felt that when people come into Montauk they make a right hand turn, go to The Sloppy Tuna, go to the beach, east dinner at The Harvest and go home -- and they don't even know that the harbor actually is available with just a left hand turn," Darenberg said a ribbon cutting on Wednesday evening.

With a host of restaurants, shops, and marinas offering fishing, water sport activities, and guided scenic tours, Montauk Harbor is a three-mile drive from the town's epicenter, where the conveniently located chamber receives a considerable amount of foot traffic in season.

The new Harbor Center is studded with plaques showing off photos of each marina, charter boat, and business, along with brochures, menus, and postcards. The walls are covered in taxidermy mounts of several species of local fish, and a large map detailing business locations in both the downtown and harbor areas is also available as a pamphlet.

In addition to helping to promote commerce, the center is also a nod to Montauk's elaborate fishing history. According to Darenberg, when the Montauk Chamber was started in the early 1950s, it stood in the same place, and featured tide tables and boating information long before it became the place to find a hotel or hairdresser.

A photograph of the original chamber is on display in the Harbor Center, along with several other bits of visual memorabilia.

In the past, the center had served as an East Hampton Town annex, where residents were able to purchase and renew permits, prior to a string of budget cuts that relocated the annex to the Montauk Commity Playhouse two years ago.